Five States Join FTC Lawsuit Accusing Hims & Hers of Sharing Users' Health Data With Ad Platforms
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced on November 10 that it has filed an amended complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, with Arizona, Florida, Nebraska, Ohio and Wisconsin joining as co-plaintiffs, accusing telehealth company Hims & Hers of sharing consumers' sensitive health information with third-party advertising platforms and deceiving users about billing and cancellation.
The suit was first filed in July by the FTC together with Utah and California, the latter represented by the Los Angeles County Counsel. The complaint alleges that Hims & Hers collected sensitive information, including sexual health details, through its online intake forms and, despite promoting its privacy practices, shared that information with Meta, Snap and other third-party advertising and analytics platforms.
The complaint also alleges the company lured consumers with low monthly subscription prices without clearly disclosing billing terms: some consumers were charged hundreds of dollars shortly after completing an intake form, before ever consulting a healthcare provider, and then faced difficulty cancelling or obtaining refunds.
The FTC alleges violations of Section 5 of the FTC Act and the Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act (ROSCA), while the five states bring claims under their own consumer protection laws. The Commission voted 2-0 to file the amended complaint. The case, No. 3:26-cv-07871, is pending in the Northern District of California; the allegations remain unproven and are for the court to decide.
Source: Federal Trade Commission
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：联邦贸易委员会（FTC）总部 Apex 大楼，位于华盛顿特区。Carol M. Highsmith 摄，公有领域，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The Apex Building, headquarters of the Federal Trade Commission in Washington, D.C. Photo by Carol M. Highsmith, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
